DALLAS – Tulane football redshirt senior linebacker Luke Jackson has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the inaugural Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award.

Presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player’s leadership, both on and off the field.

Jackson has blossomed into a leader and a role model for the Green Wave in his five years on the Uptown campus. On the field this season, theLaPlace, La., native has 41 tackles with 21 of those as solo stops in nine games played with five starts. He is second the team with 6.0 tackles for loss and has recorded 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry. His forced fumble came at Navy and was the first of his career. He recorded a career-high eight tackles vs. Army West Point.

Off the field, Jackson has shown tremendous courage as a leader on the team and in bouncing back from a cancer diagnosis as a freshman. He did not play during the 2013 and 2014 seasons as he dealt with surgeries, chemotherapy and recovery to rid himself of the disease. He made his return to the field for the 2015 season, playing in all 12 games. Jackson entered the 2017 season having already earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Tulane.

He is one of three players from the American Athletic Conference, along with UCF’sShaquem Griffin and Temple’s Keith Kirkwood, on the list of 15 seniors, four juniors and one sophomore.

Four finalists for the award will be named on Monday, Dec. 11. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony on Feb. 22, 2018, at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

The award is named after current Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport and the Cowboys’ all-time leading receiver, has served as one of football’s most prominent role models during his 15-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten has also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly‘s Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.